Moments of Clarity
by LosingInTranslation
Summary: The aftermath of that final moment in the Season 4 Finale. B/B COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!  
**RATING:** T for Teen  
**SPOILERS:** Through US Aired Episodes (Specifically Season 4 Finale)  
**WORD COUNT:** 1046  
**PAIRING:** Booth/Brennan  
**SUMMARY:** The aftermath of that final moment in the Season 4 Finale.

**A/N:** I was having this very interesting conversation with a friend after the finale aired. It really got me thinking, so I watched all of Season 4 with this idea in my head, and this story is a direct result of that. Also, super huge thanks go out to my long suffering beta for putting up with another session of word torture.

**REVIEWS:** Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

* * *

In the span of a single moment, Temperance Brennan was swimming in the full awareness of the weight in her heart. The millions of little things her subconscious had hidden away suddenly rushed forward to strangle out her ability to speak. The confusion in Booth's eyes and the words spilling from his lips were enough to bring her entire world crashing down around her.

Watching the doctors and nurses poke, prod, test and question Booth was like a bad dream. But it was their words leaking out into the hallway that unnerved her. Words like amnesia, trauma, benign, anesthesia, wait and see. Combined with his complete failure to recognize her, it was all too much, and she just had to get out of there.

Stepping out into the bright sunshine of midday nearly knocked her over as it attacked her senses. Five solid days inside the sterilized walls of the hospital was more than enough to disorient even the most rational person. With a hand to her face, an attempt to block out the vibrant spring rays, she tried to find her sunglasses, and that was when she realized her purse was still in Booth's hospital room.

It was a small thing, but it was the last straw that broke the back of her battered resolve. Stumbling to a bench, Temperance dropped down onto it and fought for every breath of air. It was a reaction she found to be completely outside of her character, as were the tears welling up in her eyes. It was weak and it was illogical. Booth had just undergone an intricate and dangerous neurological procedure, and it was only rational to assume there would be a certain amount of damage to that region of his brain. So, why was she inordinately surprised by his lack of recognition?

The truth of the answer to that question cut harshly through her ability to rationalize. The reason she was reacting in such a visceral manner was because…

"Want some company?" Temperance turned to find her father holding out a handkerchief as he sat down beside her. The moment she felt the warmth of his closeness she was overcome with a feeling absent since her childhood. As he raised his arm her final shield fell away and she melted into his embrace. "Looks like Angela was right," he said as he pulled her in tightly, rocking slightly to comfort her.

The supportive comfort she found in her father's arms was strange, yet familiar. Temperance was not used to needing comfort from anyone or anything, but her father's presence at that very moment was exactly what she needed. He smoothed a hand over her hair, and made whispering shushes into her ear while he continued to rock them back and forth. There was no rational explanation for her reaction, but she was past the point of caring. She simply buried her face in his shoulder and took all he offered her, much as she had when she was a little girl.

The warmth of her father's embrace made her feel protected and secure from everything. Temperance knew that it was merely a purely ephemeral response to the need for relief from the act of denial. But that failed to change the facts; it felt good to have someone there for the sole purpose of comforting her. Life had forced her to stop relying on anyone else, but it had also shown her the benefits of such relationships. Still, those relationships were few and far between for her.

When her power for speech returned, she turned her face and laid her head on his shoulder. "Angela called you?"

"Other way around…" She looked up at him with confusion. He pulled out another handkerchief and wiped some of the tears from her cheek before shrugging. "When I heard Booth was in trouble, I wanted to check on you, and Angela is the logical next rung in the ladder. You know, when I can't ask Booth."

Temperance sniffed as she took the second handkerchief from her father, "You talk to Booth?"

He shrugged again and begrudgingly admitted, "Yeah, well, he might be a Fed and all, but…" He paused as she shifted around to hold onto his arm when she looked into his eyes. Her father smiled and finally said, "I trust him to lookout for you. Knowing he's here…it makes it easier for me not to be."

"You know, you didn't have to go." She sniffled again, "I told Cam I changed my mind."

"I know, Honey. But I didn't change mine. And it's better this way." He pushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Besides, you appreciate me more with a little distance." His playful wink brought some relief from the tension.

Very matter of factly, she changed the subject, "He regained consciousness."

"What?!" Her father smiled at the news. "That's fantastic…" He saw the lack of enthusiasm in her expression and his face betrayed his confusion. "Isn't it?"

"It's good." She swallowed the lump trying to rise in her throat. "It means the effects of the anesthesia weren't permanent, and it enables the neurologists to better assess the current status of his condition, and it means…" She continued to drone on until he stopped her.

"Tempe… I didn't ask for the man's complete medical history." He took one of her hands in his and asked, "Is Booth okay?"

With his question the lump had returned and she fought against it to give him an answer. "He's awake."

"And?"

Her father's face told Temperance he was not going to be placated with a non-answer. "And…" She struggled to speak aloud the truth that haunted her. "And he has amnesia... Booth doesn't know me anymore."

It took a few moments before he spoke again. The silence hung in the air until her father sighed and pulled her closer to him again. "The mind is a tricky thing, Honey. And if I know your Agent Booth, he still knows you." It was foolish and illogical, but she wanted more than anything to believe what her father was telling her. And despite the laws of empirical science, she took comfort in the lie and in the warm embrace of her father.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!  
**RATING:** T for Teen  
**SPOILERS:** Through US Aired Episodes (Specifically Season 4 Finale)  
**WORD COUNT:** 882  
**PAIRING:** Booth/Brennan  
**SUMMARY:** The aftermath of that final moment in the Season 4 Finale.

**A/N:** I'm still tweaking on that last chapter, but here's the 2nd one. I hope you enjoy it.

**REVIEWS:** Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

* * *

It was disorienting enough to wake up in a completely different reality, but having a bunch of doctors and nurses poking and prodding and taking every sample known to mankind was just too surreal. They kept asking him questions; what year is it, how old are you, can you feel this, can you move that, what's in this picture, can you read the bottom line? He half expected them to ask him the name of his first grade lunch lady at the rate they were going.

He just wanted a few moments alone. Five minutes of peace so he could sort through all the muddled up thoughts swirling around in his brain. There were a million images and snippets of life trying to assault him all at once. Basic training, a Navy uniform, an abusive drunk, a badge, a hockey game, a lab, his brother the cop, the desert, a son, a wounded soldier, friends, employees, a fist fight, another fist fight, another fist fight, music, a woman on a stage, his brother the squid, a baby, a circus, gunfire, more gunfire, lots of gunfire, his son, and the woman. The woman was everywhere; hockey games, in a lab, singing, at the circus, at a bar, at a fight, with his son, by his side, everywhere. She was everywhere and having her everywhere always seemed to feel right.

The problem with all of those images was that they felt garbled. Like they didn't all belong together. And he wanted to sort them all out, to figure out which ones were real and which ones belonged in some fantasy life. He needed to know what was real, because the reality was the important part. He may not be able to tell the difference between yellow and banana on a color chart, but he knew that there were important things in his reality, and he needed to get back to them.

When the last nurse finished fiddling with his I.V., he closed his eyes tight and tried to catalogue each and every image as real or fantasy. Vivid blue suit and white shoes went into the fantasy category. Corporal Edward "Teddy" Parker went into the reality one, right next to the one of his son Parker. Gang banger fist fight out back of The Lab was dropped into the fantasy folder, while playing hockey with Wendell was for the reality one.

As he diligently tried to deal each image into the correct piles, one of the nurses poked her head inside his room again. "Mr. Booth?"

"Huh?" He was distracted by the task he so desperately wanted to finish.

"Sir, you have some visitors." She looked back into the hallway before asking him her question. "Do you feel up for a little company?"

"I ah…" He tried to come up with a reason not to let these visitors into his room, but a smiling man with a heavily creased face and graying hair slipped in past the nurse.

"Oh, Agent Booth is always up for company. The man is practically a machine." He stared at the intrusive man for a moment, trying to put a memory to the face.

"I'm not supposed to like you." He eyed the man with keen suspicion. He knew there was something about this man he didn't like. But he also knew there was something else; something that made it impossible not to like him just a little.

As the nurse left the room, the man flashed him a wide, crooked smile. "I knew you'd still be in there, Booth."

Obviously, the man seemed to know more about him than he did at the moment. If he just had a little more time to sort through the mixed up images in his head. He knew he was in the Army, and he had named his son Parker in memory of man he served with. He knew the difference between right and wrong, even if it cost him everything. And he knew that his memories were still confused, because there was so much more to him and the life he lived before.

He dropped his head back into the bed and closed his eyes, hoping the images would all magically sort themselves out and he would finally know what it was that remained a mystery to him. "I thought she said _visitors_."

The man moved closer and poured him some water, passing it to him as he asked, "What's that?" When he didn't take it right away, the man insisted. "You sound dry, drink some water."

Taking the cup and bringing it to his lips for a sip, he said again, "She said I had visitors. Where's the rest?"

"Oh!" The man turned back to the door once he realized that he was alone in the room with the patient.

His head felt heavy again and he rested it on the pillow, waiting for the man to re-enter the room. He never realized how tiring not knowing who you were would be, and he just wanted to rest. Just a few moments on the soft pillow with his eyes closed was all he needed. A few quiet moments to pull himself back together. A few quiet moments quickly gave way to sleep and he drifted away from himself once again.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!  
**RATING:** T for Teen  
**SPOILERS:** Through US Aired Episodes (Specifically Season 4 Finale)  
**WORD COUNT:** 483  
**PAIRING:** Booth/Brennan  
**SUMMARY:** The aftermath of that final moment in the Season 4 Finale.

**A/N:** Here's last chapter. With many thanks to my beta, and all of the very encouraging reviews, I am very happy to have this story done. It was lots of fun to look at everything in a new light, to try and show the whole thing through both of the characters' eyes. Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy it.

**REVIEWS:** Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

* * *

The others came and went throughout the day, each hoping to find him awake and smiling, ready to take on the world once more. Each left more somber than when they had come. Each leaving her alone with her secret.

Her father was the only one to share in her knowledge of Booth's amnesia. The only one to know she had been forgotten, one of her greatest fears realized; to live an unrecognized, unremarkable life. He was also the only one to remain with her as they waited for Booth to wake up.

Before her father was able to drag her into the room again, Booth had drifted off to sleep. The doctors seemed unconcerned about his current state, but it worried Temperance to see him unconscious once more. What else would he forget when he woke again?

It was an agonizing torture to sit there, watching him, when she knew the moment his eyes opened he would be staring at a stranger. After all their time together, just when she was finally ready to stop fighting the truth, when she willing to admit to herself and everyone else, that she did care, that she did love, to truly open her heart and accept the suffering that might come with it. It was gone in the haunted eyes of the one person it mattered most to tell.

That time, the tears came unbidden, and she squeezed her eyes shut as she hung her head in defeat. Her own words came back to mock her; _You love someone, you open yourself up to suffering, that's the sad truth. _ No one had learned that lesson better than Temperance Brennan.

"Those are the risks," came the scratchy voice beside her.

At first, she tried to tell herself it was her father, but a quick glance the other way found him fast asleep in the chair on the other side of the room. And then she turned back, still keeping her gaze from rising to the bed.

Again the voice in the bed croaked, "People say you only live once. But people are as wrong about that as they are about everything." She felt his thick, callused hand take hers. "I've lived so many lives already. Son, brother, Ranger, agent, father, but I don't think any of them have been complete." He paused, stroking the top of her wrist with his thumb.

Not wanting him to stop, but still so afraid of seeing the blankness behind his eyes again, without looking up, Temperance asked, "Why is that?"

"Because I didn't have you." She looked up with a start, the power of those simple words nearly stopping her heart. "It took being stuck in a fantasy to really see the truth." He brought her hand up to rest over his heart. "And I don't care which Brennan you are, I don't want to live another life without you."


End file.
